Crushing machine



Dec. 6, 1960 E. E. SHOLIN CRUSHING MACHINE 'Filed Sept. 23, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 55 5/1 0 L/N Dec. 6, 1960 E. E. SHOLIN 2,962,958

causnmc MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ITl IN VENTOR EESHOLI V ATTORNEY "CRUSH l NG "MACH IN E Edwin-E. Sholin, Littleriver, Calif. (Box r21,)}Albill, Calif.),.assignorof'one-third to Herbert Dale Sholin,

%2l lllfyette, and one-third to. Henry vTJSommers, Fresno, a

Filed Sept. 23, 1959, Ser. NOL 841718 7 Claims. 01.10%233) nite States Pater- F supporting'surface, or which may be made portable-and of a size enabling it.to-be conveniently stored intakitchen cabinet, in thesarne manner as other electricalappliances.

-A furtherobject. of the invention is to-providea crushing machine which maybe utilized-for conveniently crushingacans andotherdisposable containers for conserving 2 Space in waste receptacles, such as trash cans and rwhieh may be additionally utilized foncrushingcans sothatthe cans may be conveniently. sold forsalvage.

"A furtherobject of the invention isto provide a crushing-machineofextremely simple construction which-is very compact and capable of)beingseconomically manufactured,.-and which is so constructedas-to possess ade quate power for crushing cans and other .disposable containers of various sizes. a

Various other objects and advantages .ofithe invention will hereinafter become more .fully apparent from' the following description of .the drawings, illustrating'apresently preferredembodiment; and wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan. View ofthe crushing machine; FigureQ is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, partly 2,962,95 Patented Dec. 6, 1960 2 on apart of-the-bar 15 and is rigidly secured thereto, as by fastenings "17. The armature or drive shaft 18 of the vmotor -16-ex-tends outwardly through and is freely rotattable--in an opening of the wall 10. A bearing '19 is mounted in and extends-through the wall 10, remote from the shaft 18, and a bearing 20 is secured to the inner side of the wal19, in transverse alignment with the bearing '19. A countershaft 21 has one end journaled in the bearing 20 and-the other endof the shaft is journaled in and extends outwardlyfrom the bearing 19. A large pulley 22 .is fixedto't-he last mentioned end of the shaft 21, on the outer side of the wall 10, and is connected by an endless belt 23 to a small drive pulley 24 which is fixed to the drive {shaft 18; on the outer side of the wall 10. The belt -23-is ;preferablya v belt and'the pulleys 22 and 24 are preferably: provided with V-grooves to be engagedby said -A- shaft --25-.is supported and journaled in aligned bearings-.26 whichare-secured tothe inner sides of the walls -9:and10,-t-he shaft '25 being disposed above and spaced fromthe countershaft 21. A large gear 27 is fixed to the shaft -25 and-rneshe's-with'a small pinion 28 which is fixed .to'the countershaft 21. The gear 27 and the pinion 28 prqpreferablylocated adjacent the wall 10, as seen in Figure 1,v and-combine withthe pulleys 22 and 2-4 and the rbelt-2l3 toprovide 'a reduction'drive from the shaft 18 to the shaft 25, so that said shaft 25 will be driven'at a very slow r.p.rn; relative to the rpm, of the shaft 18.

A-rnovable crushing plate '29 is mounted in the frame 8 between the stationary crushing plate 12 and the shafts 2-1iand 25. -Said movable crushing plate 29 is of a width slightly less than the spacing between the walls 9 and 10 and hasarms 30 extending from its side edges and at its lower end, in a direction away from the outer side of the plate 29 -and-aw ay fromthe plate '12. Pivot elements 31 extend through and are supported by the walls 9 and 10 e and extend'loosely through the arms 30, remote from the broken'away, takensubstaiitially along thelline Eof Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a'fragmen'tary vertical sectional view, onan enlarged scale, of a part orthe crushing machine;

Figure '4 is 'an enlarged fragmentary f'transverse sectional view, taken. substantially-along a" plane vthatfis indicated by line 44 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the lin'e}5-5 ofFigu-re .1.

Referring morespecificallyto the dtawiil'gs, the time ing machine in its entirety isdesignated eneralryv and includes an elongated rigid rectangular "name; .'designated generally 8. p

The frame 8 includes transversely spacd subst'afitially paral1el side*walls9 and lll' and an endwa'lffl. The

end wall 11 extendspbetween'and is rigidly connected'to complementary ends of the sidewalls'9 andltll "A stationary crushing plate 12 extends between the side "walls 9 a'nd10; adjacent the other ends thereof, andha's'biacliets 13 projecting from an outer side thereof: iits' side'te'dgs'.

The brackets13 bear againsitlinne'rfaceslofthe "sidewalls edges, of-the walls 9, 10 "and I1. 'Said'barand' the stationary crushing plate '12 constitute parts of'the 'figid frame 8 and which is open at itstop and alsoepen at its bottom, except for the bar 15.

A conventional reversibleelectficiiiotdf ltiis mounted 7 .plane of-the plate;-29, for mounting'the plate 29 forswing- ,ing'movement in the frame "8 toward and away from the stationary crushing plate 12.

A-bracket'32 includes a bar 33 which extends between the walls '9 and 10 and which has turned-back end flanges 34 which-bear against theinn'er sides of said walls 9 and 10 and are secured rigidly thereto by fastenings 35. The bar 33 is'disposed between the shaft 25 and motor 16 and is positioned at an incline, as seen in Figures 1 and 2. The bracket 32, which constitutes-a part of the frame 8, includes a 'pairof spaced substantially parallel rigid arms 36 whichare fixed 'to and project from the upper side of the bar 33 toward and beyond the shaft 25. As best seen in Figure 4, the-arms36'have aligned openings 37 through whichtheshaft 25 loosely extends. A pinion 38 is fixed to the shaft 25g 'betweensaid arms 36. A rodor shaft 39 extendsthrough and is supported bythe arms 36, above the shaft 25. A spool shaped roller 40, having flanged ends, is-journaled on the'shaft39, between andspaced from the arms 36, and is maintained above the pinion by spacing sleeves'41 which are disposed on the shaft 39 between saidroller 40 and the arms 36, p g

A rack bar 4 -2 extends ;between the pinion 38 and roller and has downwardly facing teeth-43 which mesh with said pinien sa'. Therack bar 42iis of a width to fit between thefianged end s of the roller 49 by which it is maintainedjagaifist lateral sliding movement relative to the pi'nion 38; l-Iowever, the roller 40 ;is;of a length between-its flanged ends to allow the rack bar 42 tomoye freelydengthwise thereof. As best seen in; Fig. 4, the bar 33-has a large opening 44 through which a portion of the'rack bar'421loosel y extends; Said bar 33has a turned-back flange 45 at th'bo ttom of the opening 44, forming a rest over which -theteeth 435111121151 move.

As best seenin Figure 3, the rackbar 42 has a forward end, not provided with teeth 43, forming a stem 46 which extends loosely through an opening 47 in the upper part of the crushing plate 29. A cross pin 48 extends through the stem 46, on the forward side of the crushing plate 29, to retain the stem 46 in engagement with the opening 47. The rack bar 42 has a downwardly extending enlargement 49, between the teeth 43 and the stem 46, for engagement with the outer side of the crushing plate 29, as will hereinafter be described.

The crushing plate 29, beneath and to one side of the opening 47, has a pair of ears 50 projecting from its outer side. A rod 51 has an eye 52 at one end thereof which fits loosely between the cars 50, and which is pivotally connected thereto by a pivot pin 53, for vertical swinging movement of the rod 51 relative to the crushing plate 29.

The casing of the electric motor 16 has a housing 54 of a conventional tumbler or toggle switch fixed to and extending upwardly therefrom. The arm or lever 55 of said switch projects upwardly from the housing 54 and is swingably movable by a snap action toward and away from the crushing plate 29 for reversing the electric motor 16. The other end of the rod 51 is provided with an elongated loop 56, as best seen in Figure l, which rests slidably on the upper surface of the switch housing 54 and which slidably engages the switch arm 55. The loop 56 has end portions 57 and 58 which are disposed crosswise thereof and of the rod 51 for alternately engaging and actuating the switch arm 55 for reversing the motor 16.

A conventional switch 59 may be mounted on a conveniently accessible part of the casing of the motor 16 for making and breaking the electric circuit of the motor, or the switch 59 may be mounted in any other convenient location, as for example, in a part of a conventional electrical extension cord, not shown, which extends from the motor 16 and which is adapted to be connected to a conventional electrical outlet, not shown, for supplying current to the motor.

The upper portion of the inner side of the crushing plate 12 is substantially flat and the lower portion thereof is convexly bowed in a lengthwise or vertical direction, as seen at 60 in Figure 2. The inner side of the crushing plate 29 is substantially flat from its upper end to a point relatively near its lower end and the lower portion of said inner side is also convexly bowed longitudinally of the plate 29, as seen at 61.

The movable crushing plate 29 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 in a fully open position and in which position a can or cans to be crushed may be dropped into the space between the crushing plates 12 and 29 from above. Assuming that the switch 59 is in a closed position, and that current is being supplied to the motor 16, in the position that the parts are seen in Figures 1 and 2, the loop portion 57 has just moved the switch lever 55 from its dotted line to its full line position of Figure 2 for reversing the direction of rotation of the motor shaft 18. With the switch lever 55 in its full line position, the shafts 18 and 21 turn counterclockwise, as seen in Fig. 2, so that the gear 27, shaft 25 and pinion 38 are turned clockwise for moving the rack bar 42 from left to right. During the initial part of this movement, the stem 46 slides through the opening 47 until the enlargement 49 engages the crushing plate 29, after which said crushing plate 29 is swung clockwise about its pivots 31 toward the stationary crushing plate 12, for crushing cans or other articles, not shown, located between the crushing plates.

When the crushing plate 29 has reached its dotted line 7 ment the stem 46 slides through the opening 47 until the cross-pin engages the inner side of the crushing plate 29, after which said plate 29 will be swung to its open full line position, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, at which time the switch lever 55 will again be returned to its full line position of Figure 2 for causing the previously described operating sequence to be repeated. It may require several back-and-forth movements of the crushing plate 29 to completely crush a can so that it can pass between the plate portions 60 and 61 when the plate 29 is in an open position. After each movement of the plate 29 to its closed position and as said plate swings back to an open position, any partially crushed can or cans contained between the plates will slide downwardly, and this will be repeated until a can has been crushed substantially flat by the plate portions 60 and 61. Obviously, more than one can may be crushed simultaneously and cans and other containers of various sizes may be crushed flat by the aforedescribed operation of the machine 7. The adjacent faces of the plates 12 and 29 may be roughened to prevent the cans from being displaced upwardly as plate 29 swings toward plate 12.

While the machine 7 is adapted to be mounted in a cabinet or on a wall, it may also be utilized as a portable machine. In addition to the aforementioned household use, the machine 7 is well adapted for use in restaurants, service stations and other business establishments.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A crushing machine comprising an elongated rigid frame, a reversible power source mounted in and secured to said frame including a rotary drive shaft, a stationary crushing plate secured in substantially an upright position in said frame, a movable crushing plate, means pivotally mounting said movable crushing plate in said frame for swinging movement toward and away from the stationary crushing plate about a substantially horizontal axis disposed adjacent a bottom edge of said movable crushing plate, a rack bar having one end connected to said movable crushing plate adjacent an upper end of said crushing plate, said rack bar having teeth thereon, a shaft journaled in said frame, a pinion fixed to said shaft and meshing with the teeth of said rack bar, means forming a reduction drive from said drive shaft to said last mentioned shaft for driving the pinion at a reduced r.p.m. relative to the drive shaft, said power source having a reversing unit including a lever swingably movable toward and away from the crushing plates, and an actuating member having one end connected to the movable crushing plate and an opposite end provided with longitudinally spaced portions for alternately engaging the lever as the movable crushing plate aproaches the extremities of its swinging movement for reversing the power source and the direction of rotation of the drive shaft.

2. A crushing machine as in claim 1, said crushing plates having adjacent faces including substantially flat upper portions and opposed convexly bowed lower portions.

3. A crushing machine as in claim 1, and means connecting said rack bar to the movable crushing plate and permitting a limited swinging and sliding movement of the rack bar relative to said plate.

4. A crushing machine as in claim 3, a second shaft supported by said frame, and a flanged roller journaled on said second shaft and disposed above said pinion, said rack bar extending between the pinion and flanged roller, the flanges of said roller straddling the rack bar for retaining the rack bar in meshing engagement with the pinion.

5. A crushing machine as in claim 1, said movable crushing plate having arms projecting from the lower end thereof in a direction away from the stationary crushing plate, and said pivot means engaging said arms remote from the plane of the movable crushing plate.

6. A crushing machine as in claim 1, said lever actuating member comprising a rod having one end pivotally connected to the movable crushing plate and an opposite end provided with an elongated loop engaging loosely over said lever and slidably bearing upon a part of the reversing unit, said loop having end portions constituting said longitudinally spaced lever engaging portions.

7. A crushing machine as in claim 1, said means forming the driving connection between the shafts including a countershaft journaled in the frame, a belt and pulley drive connecting the drive shaft to the countershaft, including a large diameter pulley fixed to the countershaft and a small diameter pulley fixed to the drive shaft, a large gear fixed to the second mentioned shaft, and a small pinion fixed to said countershaft and meshing with said gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,474,801 Street Nov. 20, 1923 2,593,657 Coon et al. Apr. 22, 1952 2,619,150 Smith NOV. 25, 1952 2,920,554 Bunke Jan. 12, 1960 

